These are my meandering musings on Climbing, Adventure, Esoterica, and Rocks of both types; solid and not

Sunday, 15 May 2016

I.N.S.P.R.E. May 2016

Like many, I was inspired by this pic on northwalesbouldering.com:

Bingo Wings (V7)mystery crag?(contact for details)

Sometime later Big G spilt the beans in this BOTM, it was over on the darkside of Mymbyr..

I should clear up the Darkside thing, its not that this side gets less sun than the other, its just it misuses the force, its full of bogs, and hides all its worthwhile boulders. I digress...

The issue Bingo wings had, was that at the time (pre CROW) it was a little bit tricky to access. couple this with the land owner enjoying a peaceful life, being based on a hill in the middle of the valley and always in earshot... Lets just say it was decided to let things lie.

Time moves on, CROW happens, Ioan Doyle shears the landowners sheep, and the frenzy of virgin boulder hunting has died down. By the time I started poking around on this side of the valley he was quite happy for me to pop through his farm (on foot) to go for a wander. This is the view from the last of his gates:

And this is the best way to get to the Bart Stone...

It keep off the worst of the bog, avoids this:

And wanders past this attractive slopey traverse

The Bart Stone rears into view..

Artists impression....

The next three are a selection of warm ups...

So I'd come all this way (all of 20 mins from the car no less) to visit this ill frequented purported classic. I've just had 2 months off resting my shoulder until I was sure it wasn't buggered, just before that I'd climbed my hardest outdoor bloc, also 7A+. So naturally I assumed it would be a goer.

What I found was a massive slightly overhanging block of dolerity sandstoney stuff. the problem broke down into a dyno for a pinch (from a hanging start off an obvious jug), a big rockover, and a lurch for the top.

So a layoff followed by trying to equal your highpoint with a power based ( short intensive) bloc. This was always going to end well, wasn't it?

The two sections I managed

Powerful, simple and elegant moves, what's not to love? I needed to change to my solutions for the rockover, but my power is still a way off returning, and when it does, I will return also.

Approach- So park near RAC boulders and walk through Garth farm ( the one with the campsite). Please ask permission to do so as you meet them, they are really nice people who don't want hassle, so be polite and always shut the gates. They're not keen on crowds so small posse's I reckon. Follow the track, round the right, past the weather station and down the other side to the last gate. The piccy at the top should now make sense.